A new report suggests that Nova Scotia is making progress at reducing surgical wait times for key procedures.
According to 2024 data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, our province tied in first place in the country for access to cataract surgeries within targets. It placed in the top three for hip and knee joint replacements and hip fracture repairs within benchmarks.
Nova Scotia Health says CIHI’s findings highlight year-over-year improvements in these areas.
The average wait time for all procedures completed was at a five-year low of 108 days last year compared to 115 days pre-COVID.
In a release, NSH says in 2022 it initiated a multi-year plan to improve access to surgeries, along with endoscopy procedures and diagnostic imaging services.
Senior director of NSH’s Perioperative Services Network says, “When we set out to clear pandemic backlogs and improve access to care, we knew it wasn’t enough to do more procedures. To achieve and maintain the results Nova Scotians need, we’re finding ways to better manage and coordinate these services.”
The health authority credits improvements like electronic referrals, more coordinated booking approaches, key partnerships with Halifax Vision and other investments and innovations for the progress.
Nova Scotia Health says CIHI’s results from the 2024 report are encouraging
- Nova Scotia led the country on cataract surgery access, with 83 per cent of patients receiving surgery within the 112-day wait times target in 2024 – up 15 per cent from the previous year.
- Nova Scotia ranked third in Canada for the percentage of patients receiving hip and knee joint replacements within the 182-day (26-week) benchmark:
- 64 per cent of patients had hip replacements within the benchmark — up from 53 per cent the previous year.
- 57 per cent of patients had knee replacements within the benchmark — up from 47 per cent the previous year.
- 86 per cent of patients had hip fractures repaired within the 48-hour national benchmark — better than the Canadian average of 83 per cent.
- Nova Scotia restored or exceeded service volumes for most procedures covered by the CIHI report when compared to pre-COVID volumes (2019-20 fiscal year).
NSH data highlights
- Volumes – 57,304 patients had scheduled surgeries in 2024-25, up 13 per cent compared to pre-COVID (50,666) and about 2,500 more than last year (2023-2024).
- On April 1, Nova Scotia Health’s surgical waitlist was at a record 10-year low (15,769) — down 33 per cent from the 23,644 patients waiting at the start of the pandemic (2019-20).
- The average surgical wait time for all surgeries completed was at a five-year low of 108 days in fiscal 2024-25 compared to 115 days in fiscal 2019-20.
- Surgical long waiters (waiting > 365 days) decreased by 1,600 (2023-24 vs. 2024-25).
